A CAD Even Miss Manners Would Like
Designing things to build and generating the drawings needed to build them is the function of computer-aided design software, commonly known as CAD.
Several new CAD products for IBM and compatible computers have made the process easier and increased the level of sophistication available at lower prices:
* The Home Series of software offerings from Autodesk Retail Products, Bothell, Wash., (800) 228-3601, is a family of $60 packages each tailored to a specific project. The product titles explain their function: Home, Kitchen, Bathroom, Deck and Landscape.
* Draft & Print, $130, from Spirit of Discovery, Encinitas, Calif., (619) 929-2010, isn’t limited to any particular category of projects. But that means you have to know a little more and work a little harder to make your designs.
* DesignCAD 3D, version 4.0, $499, from American Small Business Computers, Pryor, Okla., (918) 825-4844, is a major step above the others in capability. And you can equip yourself for virtually any design challenge with DesignCAD Professional, $995, which packages the 3-D product with DesignCAD 2D version 5.0, and other software to convert scanned paper drawings into CAD drawings. The program can be used to make cost estimates and includes 6,700 pre-drawn symbols for use in a variety of engineering, architectural and other design disciplines.
If you just want to dabble in design and perhaps turn out a household project or two, the Home Series packages or Draft & Print are easy and inexpensive ways to get started.
The Home Series makes a good substitute for those alluring do-it-yourself books at the local building supply center that cover individual projects such as kitchens or bathrooms.
I tested Deck. All it can do is design patio decks and similar structures, but it does it very well.
Instead of forcing you to draw a series of lines representing various components of the deck, the program lets you work with the pre-designed components themselves.
For instance, after you have outlined the shape of the deck, you select “joists” from a menu, and the program asks you to choose among several standard sizes, 2x6, 2x8, etc. Then you are asked to select from several standard spacing patterns such as 16- and 24-inch centers. Next the program draws in the properly sized and spaced lines to represent your choices.
You still have to know something about deck construction before you begin, but on the other hand, you won’t end up with a design that can’t be built because you didn’t know about standard dimensions.
Draft & Print won’t protect you from making mistakes out of ignorance, but it will let you design any object two-dimensionally to precise measurements.
A useful feature is a grid that covers the computer screen while you work, giving you a good gauge of measurement. You can set the scale of the grid however you want it.
Drawing lines or curves to exact dimensions is easy because you need only move the screen cursor toward the desired direction and then type in the exact distance.
Much of the power of CAD software comes from pre-designed symbols--doors, windows, nuts, bolts, resistors, switches and the like--that can be incorporated into a design at the press of a keystroke or two. Draft & Print includes only 21 symbols, but a card inside the package will bring you 300 more for a $5 shipping charge.
The serious designer is the target audience for the DesignCAD products, which offer comparable power to high-performance programs such as AutoCad at a fraction of the cost.
For instance, DesignCAD 2D, $349, allows you to place different elements of the design on different drawing layers, each of which can be turned off to simplify the view. They can also be drawn in different colors to enhance clarity.
The 2-D drawings can be moved into DesignCAD 3D, where you really get to see what your object looks like. The screen presents four views, an overall view and smaller top, front and side views.
A two-dimensional object can be easily “extruded” into a three-dimensional shape by merely specifying how deep it should be.
Even better, each portion of a 3-D design can be colored and shaded to look like the material from which it is to be constructed, be it various metals, wood or plastic. That feature works best on fast computers equipped with 256-color graphics cards and math co-processors.
